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3n (Wlemoriam 



ISAAC DeGROFF NELSON 



Died March 24, 1891 



X 



Isaac De Groff Nelson was born in Poughkeepsie, 
New York, on July 2, 1810. He died at his home 
in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on March 24, 1891. The 
following spontaneous tributes of respect to his long 
life of steadfast endeavor, which were called forth by 
his death, are reproduced in a more enduring form for 
the gratification of relatives and friends, to whom his 
memory will always be dear. 

"Green be the turf above thee, 
Friend of our better days; 
None knew thee but to love thee, 
None named thee but to praise." 

W. R. N. 



SKETCH OF HIS UFE. 



Isaac De Groff Nelson was born in the town of 
Poughkeepsie, County of Duchess, and State of 
New York, on the 2d day of July, 18 10. His father, 
Leonard Nelson, was a farmer, the son of John Nel- 
son, a Revolutionary soldier who died soon after his 
return from the army, but not until he had received 
500 acres of land in the town of Dryden, Tompkins 
County, State of New York, for heroic services during 
the war. His mother's maiden name was Mary 
De Groff, daughter of Moses De Groff of the same place, 
whose whole family were conspicuous for their patri- 
otism during the trying period of the Revolution, 
especially Moses, the youngest of the family, on ac- 
count of voluntary personal sacrifices while engaged 
in guarding against the threatened invasion of the 
British, and in preventing their intercourse with their 
allies (the Tories) and the cowboys that swarmed all 
along the east side of the Hudson River, between 
Poughkeepsie and New York City, a region occupied 
by a class especially noted for their wealth and loyalty 
to the British crown. The De Groffs were in that par- 
ticular line of service, and especially between Pough- 
keepsie and Tarry town, at the time of the capture of 
Major Andre, the British spy. 






The subject of this sketch was brought up to 
agricultural pursuits, having only such very moderate 
opportunities for a common school education, during 
the winter months, as the rural district schools of that 
day furnished. His father dying when he, the only 
son, was 16 years of age, leaving a small farm 
considerably encumbered, and with a feeble mother 
and three sisters younger than himself (one of whom 
was a confirmed invalid) to be supported mainly by 
his individual exertions, he saw rugged times of un- 
ceasing toil and hardship until he was 20 years 
of age, when his ambitious nature prompted him to 
suggest to a friend the propriety of his starting a small 
country store. The suggestion met with some favor, 
and, through the influence and credit of his uncle. 
Amos T. De Groff, he was able to start the desired en- 
terprise. The business, although limited, proved 
quite successful and was continued for the benefit of 
the whole family for the succeeding six years. In 
1836 he and his sisters (his mother having previously 
married again) emigrated to Fort Wayne, where he 
resided the remainder of his life. 

On August 23, 1838, he married Elizabeth 
Rockhill, daughter of Hon. William Rockhill, an early 
settler of Fort Wayne, who was a Van Buren elector 
in 1836, and subsequently a representative in both 
branches of the State Legislature, and a member of the 
Thirtieth Congress of the United States. Although Mr. 
Rockhill was always a practical farmer, he was also a 
somewhat prominent politician and alwaj^s a Democrat. 

Mr. Nelson's father was also a Democrat and a 
politician of local note and success in his day. He 



belonged to the old Jeffersonian, Tompkins and Jack- 
sonian school of politicians. He was elected to sev- 
eral offices of trust, one of which he held at the time 
of his death, at the age of 41, in the full vigor of 
manhood and usefulness. 

It would seem that the subject of this sketch had 
inherited some of the political proclivities of his an- 
cestors, who were all Democrats and participated 
actively in the politics of the day, for we find him 
elected a School Commissioner at 21, Postmaster at 22, 
at Freedom Plains, N. Y., his place of business, under 
William T. Barry, Postmaster-General ; appointed Com- 
missioner of Deeds for the County of Duchess by the 
Judges of the court at 23, and at 24 appointed to take 
the county census — all of which trusts he discharged 
with such fidelity that at the age of 25 he was elected 
from his county delegate to the New York Democratic 
State convention, which met at Albany for the purpose 
of making nominations for State officers, but more 
especially for the purpose of bringing forward promi- 
nently the name of Martin Van Buren as a candi- 
date for President of the United States. Van Buren 
was subsequently nominated at the national conven- 
tion and elected. It was more than an ordinary honor 
to be a delegate to that convention, for it consisted of 
only 128 members, apportioned according to the mem- 
bers of the General Assembly, and Mr. Nelson (then 
only 25 ) r ears of age) represented the largest county 
in the State, except New York City and County, in 
one of the most exciting and important conventions 
ever held in that State. This convention, it was 
thought, would, as it actually did, name the next 

9 



President of the United States. Although Mr. Nelson 
was the youngest member of the convention and took, 
of course, no active part in its business, yet we find 
him appointed one of the committee to invite Governor 
Marcy to take a seat with the officers of the convention. 
Since his residence in Fort Wayne, which dates 
back to 1836, he has been actively engaged in public 
and private business of various kinds, but most of the 
time in agricultural, horticultural and kindred pur- 
suits, occupations which always seemed particularly 
congenial to his nature, and in which centered his 
greatest pleasure. His rural home, Elm Park, four 
miles east of the city of Fort Wa} r ne, was regarded 
the finest and most complete place in the State in all 
of its appointments. His farm stock consisted of all 
of the finest imported breeds, and his orchards num- 
bered over 4,000 bearing trees of the choicest fruits of 
all kinds. His attractive Gothic house and convenient 
out-buildings, his extensive and beautifully laid out 
grounds, handsomely planted and decorated with the 
rarest flowers, shrubs and ornamental trees, ap- 
proached by suitable drives and walks, made it a place 
of great attraction and pleasant resort for the numer- 
ous friends of the family, and other visitors, particu- 
larly pomologists, horticulturists, agriculturists and 
stock breeders. On the occasion of the State Fair 
being held at Fort Wayne in 1865 the entire Board of 
Agriculture and other visitors, including Warder, 
Meehau, Downing and Heaver, made a special visit to 
his residence by cars tendered by the Wabash railroad 
to see his place and inspect his grounds, which were 
handsomely described by correspondents of the Chi- 



cago, Cincinnati and Eastern papers. He was foremost 
in all movements to promote agricultural interests, 
and furnished John Ljllie the money to establish the 
first tile factory in the State. He underdrained every 
acre of his own farm. 

In June, 1840, when politics ran very high all 
over the country, Mr. Nelson's zeal induced him to 
purchase of George W. Wood the Fort Wayne Senti- 
nel, a Whig paper in a then overwhelming Whig 
County. He became its publisher and editor, and at 
once changed its politics to that of a Democratic paper. 
Its politics has remained the same to the present time, 
and it is now the oldest Democratic paper in the 
State. The politics of the county also changed, and 
Allen County soon became, and is now, the banner 
Democratic county of the State. Whether the paper 
was instrumental in effecting so radical a change or not 
it undoubtedly exercised much influence in that 
direction. 

In 1 85 1 Mr. Nelson was elected, without opposi- 
tion, representative to the General Assembly of the 
State. It was the first meeting of the Legislature 
under the new State constitution. All the old laws 
were abolished by the convention, and hence new 
ones had to be enacted conforming to the new consti- 
tution. Mr. Nelson was one of the active members of 
that body, being on several important committees and 
especially on the Committee of Ways and Means. He 
was the author of, and championed through the Legis- 
lature, what was known as the "Nelson Railroad 
Bill," a general railroad law, under which, with some 
slight changes, all the railroads of the State since then 



have been organized and are now operating. The 
passage of this law was violently opposed by all the 
members whose constituents were interested in roads 
already in operation, or which had charters for the 
purpose of establishing them. Immediately upon the 
adjournment of the Legislature (which lasted nearly 
six months as provided by the constitution) he as- 
sisted in the organization of the Wabash road at a 
meeting held at L,ogansport in June, 1852. This was 
the first railroad organized under the general law. 

In 1843 Mr. Nelson was appointed, after the death 
of Major Samuel Lewis, Receiver of Public Moneys at 
Fort Wayne. The district for the sale of public lands 
extended from the Ohio State line to Howard County 
on the Southwest, and included several Indian reser- 
vations in which the Indian title had been extin- 
guished, and which were mostly sold during his term 
of office. His term expired very suddenty upon the oc- 
casion of General Taylor's accession to the Presidency. 
During his term as Receiver he was also appointed 
Paymaster or age^nt for the payment of the annual an- 
nuities of the Miami Indians resident in Indiana. He 
introduced, with some difficulty, the system of paying 
the Indians their annuities in silver, giving the money 
to the head of each of the several distinct families, in- 
stead of, as had been the custom, settling their accounts 
first with the traders and paying the Indians the bal- 
ance that was left, if anything, which was said to be 
seldom the case. This was an innovation and a sore 
disappointment to the traders, who tried to create some 
trouble, chiefly through George Hunt, a well known 
half-breed Indian, who was instigated by the traders. 



But the agent persisted in his determination, to the 
great satisfaction of the Indians when made to under- 
stand their interests, and to the special satisfaction of 
the government at Washington, to which it had been 
represented by the traders that the Indians had always 
been satisfied with the old system of settlements, and 
that a change would result seriously to the Indians 
and traders alike. But after the payment was made, 
so well was the department pleased with the manner 
and success with which it was done, that the Hen. 
William Medill of the War Department, upon the set- 
tlement of Mr. Nelson's accounts, wrote under date of 
Nov. 9, 1847, a complimentary letter, closing as fol- 
lows : "Accept, if you please, the thanks of this office 
for the performance of said duty" — a rare compliment, 
and said to be unusual with the heads of departments 
at Washington. 

Mr. Nelson was twice elected Clerk of the Allen 
County Circuit Court, and in 1873 was unanimously 
nominated by a large convention composed of both 
parties as candidate for the State Senate ; but, having 
determined to retire from active political life that he 
might pursue more uninterruptedly occupations in ac- 
cordance with his natural tastes and inclinations, he 
declined the honor. 

He was for many years a life member of the 
National Pomological Society, and was always fore- 
most in all agricultural, horticultural, pomological and 
similar organizations and enterprises of the day, 
whether local, county, state, district or national. He 
was in turn President, Vice-President and Secretary of 
all of them. He was appointed by Governor Baker a 

13 



member of the first Board of Trustees of Purdue Uni- 
versity, properly the Agricultural College of Indiana, 
which position he resigned in a few years on account 
of other more pressing public and private duties. He 
was appointed by Governor Williams one of the first 
Commissioners for the responsible trust for the erection 
of the new Capitol for the State of Indiana, in 1877, 
which position he held until the building was com- 
pleted, which was accomplished within the limit of the 
first appropriation, a case almost without parallel. 

In the conception and subsequent organization of 
Lindenwood Cemetery, near the city of Fort Wayne, in 
i860, one of the loveliest places in design, improve- 
ments and ornamentation as a city of the dead to be 
found anywhere, Mr. Nelson was one of the first 
twelve incorporators, and was also the first President, 
which position he still held at the time of his death. 

In religion Mr. Nelson was an Episcopalian, and 
was Vestryman and Warden of Trinity Church, Fort 
Wayne, for more than forty years, and Senior Warden 
at the time of his death, as he had been for many 
years previously. 

In all local and charitable institutions and public 
enterprises he always participated to the extent of his 
financial ability. Upon the completion of the Wabash 
and Erie canal, which was the great event of the day, 
he took an active part in getting up the celebration, 
which occurred July 4, 1839, and was one of the 
committee of invitation and reception. General Cass 
delivered the oration, and all the dignitaries of the State 
were present, as well as many from other States. Let- 
ters of congratulation and regret were read from 



President Van Buren, from Webster, Clay, Calhoun 
and Benton, and all the other prominent statesmen of 
the nation to whom letters of invitation had been sent. 

Mr. Nelson was essentially a self-made man, under 
very disadvantageous circumstances, as we have seen. 
He obtained what information he could between hours 
of labor incident to a hard-working life on the farm 
which was necessary to the support of those chiefly 
dependent upon him for their maintenance and educa- 
tion. And yet his writings on practical agriculture, 
horticulture, pomology, rural architecture, on the 
method of beautifying public and private grounds, 
tree culture, etc., as well as on political subjects, es- 
pecially free trade (the one great political hobby of his 
life), are familiar to the reading public and popular 
with those of similar tastes and cultivation of thought. 
He assisted in establishing the first successful nursery 
of fruit and ornamental trees in his section of the 
State, and also assisted, in 1856, in the organization of 
the first live stock company for the importation and 
sale of blooded cattle, and was the largest purchaser 
at the first sale. His stock always took first premiums 
wherever exhibited in or out of the State, whether as 
show cattle for breeding purposes or as fat cattle for 
the butcher. He was well known as a first-class, in- 
telligent breeder of Short Horn cattle and Cotswold 
sheep, and at one of his sales he sold large numbers to 
go to Illinois, Wisconsin and other States. He also 
took over one hundred and fifty first premiums in 
money and silver cups on fruit at different fairs in this 
and other States. 

Mr. Nelson was one of the original organizers, 

■5 



stockholders and treasurer of the first packet boat 
company that operated on the Wabash and Erie canal, 
and was also one of the stockholders of the Mauraee 
City (Ohio) and Fort Wayne (Ind.) Steam-Boat Com- 
pany, organized for the purpose of navigating the 
Maumee river. He was the only Fort Wayne passen- 
ger on the first and only trip the steamer made on 
these waters. The river was at high water mark in 
consequence of recent floods, completely overflowing 
its banks and submerging the country along the entire 
route. Mr. Nelson rode on horseback from Fort 
Wayne to the "head of the rapids," near Maumee 
City (where the vessel was built and chiefly owned bj'- 
White & Kirtland, commission merchants), a distance 
of nearly one hundred miles, leaving his horse there 
until he made the adventurous round trip to Fort 
Wa)me and back. The round trip was safely accom- 
plished in six days by the captain dexterously dodging 
floating trees, sawlogs, bridge timbers, fence rails and 
a saw mill on their way to the lake. This was a trial 
trip to test the practicability of the slack water navi- 
gation between Fort Wayne and Lake Erie- The 
scheme was considered impracticable and the steamer 
was transferred at once to less dangerous waters, run- 
ning, as was understood, quite successfully between 
Maumee City and Detroit, via Monroe, Michigan. 

He viewed with serious alarm the rapid increase 
of intemperance and consequent vice and immorality 
in our country, and religiously believed its progress 
could never be arrested until the manufacture and 
sale of all intoxicating drinks were prohibited b} r law, 
and the law executed to the letter. 



LINDENWOOD CEMETERY. 

The following paper was read by Oliver P. Morgan 
before the Trustees of Lindenwood Cemetery at a meet- 
ing held at their office in the Old National Bank, Feb. 
7, 1887, and ordered spread upon the minutes, and the 
subjoined resolution adopted. 

The members of the Board present were: O. P. 
Morgan, J. H. Bass, S. B. Bond, George H. Wilson. 

W. T. Reitze, S. B. Bond, 

Secretary. Chairman. 



THE MONUMENT. 

A little more than a quarter of a century ago the 
grounds now known as Lindenwood Cemetery were 
covered with forest trees and a dense undergrowth; 
to-day they are a " beautiful city of the dead." Being 
richly endowed by Nature with gentle undulations, 
varied and diversified in form, and corresponding de- 
pressions, in which convenient roadways have been 
located, every lot is made easily accessible by a skill- 
ful and tasteful hand directed by the President of the 
association. 

The Hon. I. D. G. Nelson was elected President 
of Lindenwood Cemetery on May 14, i860, and has 
been re-elected to that position every year since that 
time. His wise counsels and intelligent zeal, as well 
as his admirable taste, are seen in the well ordered and 



symmetrical plan of its grounds and lakes. Ljnden- 
wood Cemetery all these years from its organization 
till now has been cherished by its President as an ob- 
ject of love very near to his heart, calling forth his 
earnest interest and his thoughtful care, and Linden- 
wood has responded to his affection by its ever increas- 
ing beauty and restful charms. L,ook upon it when 
you may, it calls forth admiration, and seems to say : 
"Come unto me, all ye that are weary of life, with its 
ills and cares and disappointment, and rest in my 
bosom." The visitor lingers within its grounds almost 
loth to leave that delightful spot, and instinctively 
looks back to gaze once more upon its unfading beau- 
ties ere he passes out of sight. 

The Trustees feel that to Mr. Nelson they owe a 
debt of gratitude for his long service in and unflagging 
fidelity to the best interests of Lindenwood, and, as a 
mark of their high appreciation of his valuable services 
in making ours one of the most attractive cemeteries 
in our land, they do now appropriate and set apart out 
of the surplus funds in the treasury the sum of twenty- 
five hundred dollars ($2,500), or so much of it as may 
be necessary to defray the expenses of a monument, 
to be erected and placed upon the lot owned by Mr. 
Nelson in Lindenwood Cemetery; and it is the ex- 
pressed wish of the Board of Trustees that President 
Nelson shall select the material and design of the 
monument and order its construction and its placing 
on his lot at an early day. 

Resolved, That the sum above named be appro- 
priated for the uses and purposes therein expressed, 
and a copy of the above paper be sent to Mr. Nelson. 



OBITUARY RESOLUTIONS. 

Fort Wayne, Ind., March, 28, 1891. 

Pursuant to a call the Trustees of Eindenwood 
Cemetery met at the Old National Bank to consider the 
death of the Hon. Isaac D. G. Nelson, President of the 
Board. 

The following preamble and resolutions were 
adopted : 

Whereas, The Hon. Isaac D. G. Nelson, the 
esteemed President of the Board of Trustees of Ein- 
denwood Cemetery, has been called from Time to 
Eternity, therefore, 

Resolved, That the Trustees of Eindenwood Cem- 
etery hereby express their sorrow for the loss sustained 
by them as a Board and the loss to the community of 
a valued citizen; that as Mr. Nelson was connected 
with the Cemetery Board from its organization, and 
was its first and only President, and held that office 
till the day of his death, we unhesitatingly acknowl- 
edge his great worth, his active and intelligent zeal, his 
unerring judgment in all matters connected with the 
affairs of the cemetery. 

Owing to his wise supervision and good taste Ein- 
denwood to-day ranks in beauty and picturesqueness 
with any cemetery in the State, if not in the West. 

It was always to him a cherished spot, occupying 
much of his time and thoughts, but more especially 
during the last two years. The friends of Einden- 
wood cannot place too high a value upon the services 

19 



rendered by him in their behalf in arranging and 
beautifying the final resting place of so many of our 
citizens. 

His was a busy and useful life, and his labors will 
long be remembered and appreciated by those left be- 
hind. A good man and a valuable citizen has gone 
from us. We shall miss him, and shall cherish his 
memory while life endures. 

Ordered that the foregoing shall be spread upon 
the minutes of the Board of Trustees and a copy 
thereof be handed to the bereaved family with the 
sincere sympathy of this Board. 

O. P. Morgan, 

Chairman. 



TRINITY CHURCH. 

By request of the Vestry of Trinity Episcopal 
Church, Hon. F. P. Randall prepared a memorial on 
the life and services of the late Isaac DeGroff Nelson, 
whom he had known intimately for over fifty years. 

The paper was read at the parish meeting Mon- 
day evening, ordered spread upon the records of the 
Church and published. 

Mr. Randall said : 

In the death of its late Senior Warden, I. D. G. 
Nelson, this Church has lost one of its oldest, most 
active, exemplary, and revered members. His con- 
nection with Trinity Church dates from its first or- 
ganization, and for nearly fifty years he has been a 
useful, devoted and highly esteemed member of the 
same; and during all of that time his Christian zeal 
never grew weary, nor did his devotion to true religion 
ever abate. In his family he was an indulgent father 
and a most kind and devoted husband. In his inter- 
course with the world the justice, propriety and be- 
nevolence of his conduct caused all to regard him as a 
model citizen, whilst the ease and frankness of his 
manners, a constant observance of the amenities of 
life, and a sedulous regard for the feelings of others, 
made for him personal friends of all with whom he 
came in contact. Always candid, always pleasant, 



always courteous, he never offended by rudeness or 
wounded by unkind remarks. 

In his varied relations in life he received that 
respect from others to which the excellence of his own 
character so eminently entitled him. Kind and for- 
bearing himself, he paid respectful regard to the opin- 
ions of others. 

During his long life he experienced prosperity 
and adversity, but his practical good sense enabled 
him to meet every emergency with calmness and self- 
control. Without ostentation or obtrusion, in his own 
quiet way, he had lived among us, a true Christian 
gentleman. 

The truth of the Christian religion impressed on 
his youthful mind, cherished and matured in his riper 
years, did by the blessing of God vouchsafe to him in 
his last moments its hope and its consolation. 

He has gone to his eternal rest. A noble granite 
shaft looks down upon his new-made grave. Yet all 
of Liudenwood, that beautiful home for the dead, is 
his monument. Those pleasant walks, those shady 
groves, those green and delightful lawns, those lovely 
flowers, have all taken shape and form and made their 
growth under his guiding and fostering hands, and 
while grass grows and flowers bloom they will remain 
to him a memorial. 

Several days before his death he became satisfied 
that his life's work was done, and he so told his family 
and kindly and affectionately assured them that he 
was prepared, ready and even anxious to depart. No 
doubts or fears disturbed the Christian serenity of his 
last hours. Death came to him, not as the king of 



terrors, but as a kind friend to open for him the door- 
way to the home of the blessed. In the stillness of 
the sick chamber he heard a heavenly voice, in subdued 
and melting accents of tenderness and compassion, 
saying: "Fear not, for I am with thee. Be not dis- 
mayed, for I am thy God," and he might in truth have 
adopted the words and sentiment of the great apostle : 

"I am now ready to be offered, and the time of 
my departure is at hand. 

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my 
course. * * * Henceforth there is laid up for me 
a crown of righteousness." 

How many 3^ears of an ordinary life does such a 
dying moment overbalance. 

"Servant of God, well done, 

Rest from thy worldly employ; 
The battle fought, the victory won, 
Enter thy Maker's joy. 

"Soldier of Christ, well done, 
Praise be thy new employ, 
And while eternal ages run 
Rest in thy Savior's joy." 



TRIBUTES FROM THE PRESS. 

THE FORT WAYNE SENTINEL. 
At 8 o'clock this morning death separated all 
earthly ties of Hon. I. D. G. Nelson, one of Allen 
County's oldest and most prominent residents, and a 
citizen whose very name was the synonym of all that 
is esteemed in the eyes of men. 

After a brief though painful illness, Mr. Nelson 
passed to his last sleep, surrounded by a few relatives, 
at his residence, 132 East Berry street. Although 
very active in his latter j^ears, the footprints of time 
stamped the infirmities of age upon his constitution, 
until finally he laid down all earthly cares and waited 
longingly for the immortal message to summon him 
to the shore where "the weary are at rest." His last 
illness dated from the time he attended the obsequies 
of the late lamented Mrs. Susan C. Williams, at which 
he was among the honored pall-bearers. * * * 

The Lindenwood Association, with a high sense of 
appreciation of Mr. Nelson's untiring labors in behalf 
of improvements in the "beautiful city of the dead," 
has erected on the Nelson lot a magnificent monument 
for himself and family. Under the shadow of this 
shaft already sleeps his wife. 

The surviving children are : Mrs. Henry W. Bond 
and Miss Eva Rebecca Nelson, of this city, and W. R. 

25 



Nelson, of Kansas City, Mo. The late ex-Sheriff, 
De Groff Nelson, also a son, died in May, 1887. Among 
the grandchildren are Miss Eva Theodosia Nelson 
and Mrs. Harry Metzgar. 



THE FORT WAYNE GAZETTE. 

It is with sincere regret that the people of the 
State will learn of the death of Hon. I. D. G. Nelson. 
Mr. Nelson was one of the pioneers of the State, a 
gentleman well known throughout its borders, and 
who in his long and useful life had contributed his full 
share to her prosperity and in the development of her 
great resources. He was for } r ears an honored resi- 
dent of this city, and the people delighted to claim 
him. An honorable and upright man, he was esteemed 
by all, and in his death at a ripe old age he leaves 
behind him the example of a life well spent, of a work 
well done. Men of this kind are an inspiration to the 
community, and, dying, require no monument to per- 
petuate their deeds or their memory. 

An honorable and upright man has departed ; 
another of the pioneers of Allen county has been called 
to his long reward. The death of Hon. I. D. G. Nel- 
son occurred early yesterday morning at his home, 132 
East Berry street. The deceased had been ailing for 
some time, and for the last few days all hopes of his 
recovery had been abandoned. At the time of the 
funeral of the late Mrs. Jesse L,. Williams Mr. 
Nelson was one of the pall-bearers, and he 
then caught cold which finally culminated in the dis- 
ease causing his death. A coincidence is here to be 

26 



noted, that of the pall-bearers on that occasion two 
have already passed beyond — Mr. Cochrane and Mr. 
Nelson. 

In the death of Mr. Nelson, Allen County loses one 
of her most honorable citizens, and a man who has 
through life been closely identified with all her inter- 
ests, mercantile and agricultural. He was a man who 
occupied many prominent places, positions of trust, 
and in all he was the same straightforward and upright 
person. Such men as he are a credit to a community, 
and their good qualities always exert a good influence 
upon the community, even long after they themselves 
have passed away. * * * 

The death of his wife, one year ago last October, 
was a severe blow, and one from which Mr. Nelson 
never fully recovered. So long had they trodden 
together life's pathway that it made the separation all 
the more severe. One of his sons, De Groff Nelson, 
died a few years ago while serving as Sheriff of this 
county. There remain three children, William R. 
Nelson, proprietor of the Kansas City Star, Mrs. 
Theodosia Bond and Miss Eva Rebecca Nelson. 

The funeral has been arranged to take place from 
his late residence, 132 East Berry street, to-morrow 
afternoon at 2 o'clock, the services to be conducted by 
Rector Seabrease- There will be honorary and active 
pall-bearers as follows : Honorary — Dr. J. S. Irwin, 
O. P. Morgan, F. P. Randall, J. K. Edgerton, W. T. 
Abbott and W. H. Jones. Active— C. D. Gorham, C. 
R. Higgins, S. B. Bond, J. D. Bond, Clark Fairbank 
and John H. Bass. 






THE KANSAS CITY STAR. 

A dispatch from Fort Wayne, Ind., announces the 
death at an early hour this morning of Isaac De Groff 
Nelson, one of the oldest residents of that city and a 
prominent citizen of his State. The immediate cause 
of his death was the disease known as la grippe, but 
he had already lived far beyond the three-score years 
and ten, which is regarded as the full measure of 
earthly existence. He was about 81 years of age, and 
had lived a life of activity and usefulness, which en- 
dured up to the very last hours of consciousness. 

Mr. Nelson was a pioneer in Indiana, and was 
identified with the growth of Fort Wayne as a busi- 
ness center. He was known in earty life as a practical 
farmer, as a merchant and a newspaper editor. For 
many years he was editor of the Fort Wayne Sentinel, 
and in that capacity did much to mould the sentiment 
of his section and State- He enjoyed much political 
distinction, having been elected several times to re- 
sponsible local trusts in his own county, and having 
represented his constituents in constitutional conven- 
tions and the State Legislature. His last public service 
to the State was as Commissioner for the erection of 
the new Indiana State House, a duty which called him 
to Indianapolis, where he resided for several years as 
an active member of the State House Commission. 

Upon his return to Fort Wayne, a couple of years 
ago, Mr. Nelson resumed his interest in the care and 
improvement of Lindenwood Cemetery, one among 
the results of his energy and public spirit. Linden- 
wood Cemetery is one of the loveliest places in design 
(improvements and ornamentation set aside) in this 

28 



country as a "city of the dead." Mr. Nelson was the 
first President of the corporation which founded it, 
and held that position at the time of his death. The 
personal attention he gave to it was acknowledged a 
few years ago by the Board of Trustees, who voted the 
amount of money necessary for the erection of a hand- 
some monument to his memory ; it was completed and 
put in place before his death. In religion Mr. Nelson 
was an Kpiscopalian, and was for more than forty 
years Vestryman and Warden of Trinity Church, Fort 
Wayne. 

I. D. G. Nelson was essentially a self-made man. 
He began life under circumstances which afforded 
him but meager opportunities for education, and yet 
he developed subsequently great ability as a writer on 
practical agriculture, horticulture, pomology, rural ar- 
chitecture, tree culture, public questions, and espe- 
cially free trade, which was the great political princi- 
ple of his life. He maintained his faculties and 
energy up to the very last days of his career, and 
took the same active interest in the welfare of his 
country, his State and his city which he manifested 
early in life. He was a strong and upright man in 
business, in politics and in all social relations. He had 
a high ideal of the duties of life. He was a good citi- 
zen, and never spared himself in any emergency calling 
for work or self-sacrifice. His long life was filled with 
useful endeavor, and he will be followed to his grave 
by the love of all who knew him and the respect of all 
to whom he was known. 



29 



THE INDIANAPOLIS SENTINEL. 

Isaac De Groff Nelson, of Fort Wayne, died at his 
home in that city yesterday at the advanced age of 81. 
Mr. Nelson was one of the pioneers of Indiana, and 
had been for more than half a century prominent in 
the affairs of the State. He was a man of the highest 
personal character, of excellent ability, of strong con- 
victions, of great industry, and in every respect a most 
useful and worthy citizen. He had been from his 
earliest manhood an ardent Democrat. He retained 
to the last his devotion to Democratic principles, and 
always maintained that their rigid application would 
solve all the real problems of government. During 
most of his life he was actively identified with the 
agricultural and horticultural interests of the State, 
and he did very much for their promotion. As a 
member of the board of State House Commissioners 
during its entire existence Mr. Nelson rendered im- 
portant service to the State. His unbending integrity, 
his varied knowledge, his rare aptitude for de- 
tails and his keen sense of public duty combined to 
make him an invaluable member of the Board. Our 
magnificent State Capitol was erected within the ap- 
propriation and without a whisper or suggestion of 
scandal or jobbery. It will be an enduring monument 
to the memory of the men under whose auspices it was 
directed, none of whom had a longer or more active 
part in the work than Mr. Nelson. 

His death, in the fullness of years and amid the 
peaceful surroundings of an honorable retirement, was 
a fitting close to an upright and noble life. 



.-' 



THE INDIANAPOLIS NEWS. 
In the death of Hon. I. D. G. Nelson Indiana 
loses a citizen worthy of all honor; one of those men 
who are a moving factor in affairs wherever they find 
themselves, an active principle in the progress of their 
day and generation. In his long life and to his latest 
day, Mr. Nelson was ever a participant, not a mere ob- 
server. With quick sympathies he took vital interest 
in all the movements of life. It was only a few days ago 
that he was a contributor to the columns of the Labor 
Signal of this city upon some phase of the great indus- 
trial problem. When he lived in Indianapolis during 
the many years of his service as a State House Com- 
missioner, his alertness considered constantly sugges- 
tions and projects for the good of this community. 
Among many avenues of intelligent activity he was a 
horticulturist, and while here he was urging wise use 
and care of our parks and proper improvement of our 
streets. He was a clear thinker on all problems ; had 
a living interest in politics as a matter of principle. 
He was a fine type of citizenship; one of the kind that 
contributes most largely to the sturdy body of impulse 
that makes real progress. He dies full of years and 
widely honored. 

meehan's (Philadelphia) monthly. 
Mr. I. D. G. Nelson, of Fort Wayne, Ind., died 
on the 25th of March in his 81st year. Mr. Nelson was 
one of the original horticulturists of Indiana, and his 
beautiful grounds and green houses were probably 
among the earliest of the best laid out places in that 
section of the country. His pretty green houses 



always attracted the lover of exotic plants who visited 
that section, and whatever horticultural or pomolog- 
icai societies met in that vicinity they were always cor- 
dially and handsomely entertained at Mr. Nelson's 
residence. In connection with his love for horticult- 
ure he was very prominent and popular in public 
affairs. 

One of his greatest works of public usefulness 
was the establishing of Lindenwood Cemetery, which 
is one of the most beautiful in the country. In this 
work he continued to take a warm interest up to the 
time of his decease. On his own lot in that cemetery 
the projectors erected a monument, on which the fol- 
lowing is inscribed: " The Trustees feel that to Mr. 
Nelson they owe a debt of gratitude for his long serv- 
ice and unflagging fidelity to the best interests of 
Lindenwood, and, as a mark of their appreciation of 
his valuable service, order the erection of a suitable 
monument on his cemetery lot." We often wonder 
that those who would preserve their names to posterity 
do not often interest themselves in securing public 
grounds for either the living or the dead as Mr. Nel- 
son has done; for our own part we would sooner know 
that our name was connected with a public square, 
or a beautiful cemetery, than have a monument in 
marble or brass, such as is usually given to a military 
or some other hero. 



THE INDIANAPOLIS JOURNAL. 
The most prominent man in Northern Indiana, as 
far as active connection with the development of the 
country is concerned, was the Hon. Isaac DeGroff 

32 



Nelson, who died in Fort Wayne at 8 o'clock, March 24, 
at his late residence. After a brief though painful ill- 
ness, contracted at the time he attended the funeral of 
the late Mrs. Williams. Mr. Nelson passed away, 
closing an earthly career of usefulness to his country 
and of unstinted devotion to his fellow-men. 

When not serving the public Mr. Nelson was 
engaged in farming, giving much time to stock-rais- 
ing, horticulture and landscape gardening. He was a 
member of the Trinity Episcopal Church and a devout 
Christian. His wife has been dead for several years. 
The surviving children are: Mrs. Henry W. Bond, 
Miss Eva Rebecca Nelson, of this city, and W. R. Nel- 
son, editor and proprietor of the Kansas City Star. 



FORT WAYNE JOURNAL. 

In spite of the most inclement weather, a large 
number of the friends of the late Hon. I. D. G. Nelson 
followed his remains to L,indenwood Cemetery yester- 
day. At his late residence on East Berry street the 
touching burial services of the Episcopal Church were 
read by Rev. A. W. Seabrease of Trinity Episcopal 
Church — of which the deceased was a life-long mem- 
ber—and Dr. Moffat, of the First Presbyterian Church, 
assisted in prayer. 

After the short service, which the Church pro- 
vides shall be read at the grave, his remains were laid 
to rest in that "city of the dead" which owes so much 
of its beauty to the fostering care which his loving 
hand had lavished upon it during his life. 

Mr. Nelson was one of the originators of Linden- 
wood Cemetery and was the first and only President 

33 



the organization has ever had, and the care and direc- 
tion of its affairs have been to him a labor of love. 

Intensely rural in his tastes and inclination, the 
natural beauties of the spot gave him a wide field for 
the exercise of that care and skill which were his, part- 
ly the result of a long life devoted to the study of the 
artistic side of rural affairs. 

With Superintendent Doswell to carry out the 
details of the work, Mr. Nelson planned all of the ma- 
terial improvements which have made Lindenwood 
the most beautiful burial place in Indiana. 

As he was laid to rest beneath the shadow of the 
majestic granite shaft with which his associates had, 
during his life, commemorated the value of his serv- 
ices as President, the thought that was uppermost in 
the minds of the assembled mourners was that all 
about him was a monument more beautiful and hardly 
less enduring than the "eternal rock" which marks 
his resting place and recites the value of his services 
to his fellow-men. 



THE INDIANA FARMER. 

On Tuesday, March 24th, occurred the death of 
Hon. Isaac DeGroff Nelson at his home in Fort Wayne, 
one of the oldest, best known, most enterprising, pub- 
lic spirited, upright and honored citizens of the State. 

He was well known to our readers by his articles 
on various horticultural and agricultural subjects, 
which have appeared occasionally ever since we have 
been connected with the paper. Our last number 
contains a valuable communication from his pen, en- 

34 



titled "Another Word on Orchard Grass," probably 
the last he ever wrote for the public. 

He was for many years a prominent member of 
the State Board of Agriculture and of the State Hor- 
ticultural Society, and was at one time President of 
the latter bod}'. For several years past he has served 
the State most worthily as a member of the Board of 
State House Commissioners, which will be honored 
as long as that noble building shall stand as having 
exercised such care, prudence and economy in its con- 
struction as to complete it within the limits of the 
estimate of the architect. 

He was born in the State of New York in 1810, the 
son of a farmer, and in 1836 moved to Fort Wayne. 
The illness from which he died was caused by a severe 
cold contracted while attending the funeral of the 
widow of Jesse Williams, another pioneer. 



FORT WAYNE SENTINEL. 

By the death of Hon. I. D. G. Nelson, the city of 
Fort Wayne and the State of Indiana are deprived of 
an honored and a valuable citizen, one who figured 
prominently in life and who did much for the genera- 
tion in which he lived. He was at one time the edi- 
tor and proprietor of The Sentinel, and under his 
charge it was changed from a Whig paper to an influ- 
ential Democratic organ. This was in the year 1840, 
and since then The Sentinel has remained true to the 
Democratic faith. Mr. Nelson has been prominent in 
politics and has filled with honor many offices to which 
the people of the county have elected him. In all 
his stations in life, as a private citizen and as an offi- 

35 



cial, he has been true to the grand principles of right, 
which ever actuated and controlled his actions, and he 
passes to the great beyond with a life record that is 
pure and spotless. Such men as Mr. Nelson are ex- 
amples for the rising generation to imitate, and the 
influence of his career will live for many years to 
come. His bereaved family have the sympathy of a 
wide circle of friends in both this city and throughout 
the State. 



THE KANSAS CITY EVENING TIMES. 

Isaac D. G. Nelson, whose death at an advanced 
age has just occurred at Fort Wayne, Indiana, was one 
of the pioneer newspapermen of that State, a citizen of 
the highest integrity and a man of many attractive 
qualities. The Evening Times extends to Colonel Nel- 
son of the Kansas City Star its sympathy. Colonel 
Nelson had a right to be proud of his father during life 
and his grief finds all newspaper men of his 
acquaintance ready to show with him respect for the 
memory of a veteran who was an honor to the 
profession. 



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